


A Desperate Prayer

by brokenmimir



Series: White Rose Week 2020 [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, F/F, White Rose Week 2020 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24700954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenmimir/pseuds/brokenmimir
Summary: White Rose Week 2020, Day 4: goddess AURuby Rose is being chased by a terrible monster, when she prays for salvation.  It probably works out better for her than for the goddess she unknowingly prayed to.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: White Rose Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781932
Comments: 15
Kudos: 156





	A Desperate Prayer

Ruby ran, slipping and sliding, scrambling across the uneven ground. She'd spent much of her childhood playing at the edges of the forest, even going deeper than the other children, deeper than was prudent, but she'd always been an adventurous girl, and despite the reports of Grimm in the wilderness, she'd never seen anything so dangerous herself. Running into a monster actually sounded like an exciting adventure to the peasant girl.

The truth of the Grimm was nothing like she'd imagined. The Beowolf was enormous, a hulking beast of black fur and white bone, looming larger than a man, with claws as sharp as swords and longer than knives. Even just one Beowolf had been far, far more of a threat than she could possibly handle, and she'd hoped to run back to town before the monster caught her.

Unfortunately, whether through malign intellect or poor luck, Ruby found herself continuously turned away from the town, until she was running ever deeper in the now sinister woods. No matter what she did she could neither lose the Beowolf, nor find a way back towards safety. As minutes passed and the stitch in her side grew, she slowly began to realize that her foolishness had caused her death.

Then the ground gave way beneath her, and she tumbled down into a chasm that she hadn't seen from above. When she finally slid to a stop, battered and bruised, she took a moment to appreciate the intertwined branches of the trees, which had done a marvelous job of holding a carpet of leaves in place, hiding the drop from her view.

While part of her hoped that the Beowolf would miss her, she suspected that it was more likely to fall down on top of her, and so despite her pain she staggered to her feet, looking around wildly, hoping to see _something_ that could save her. With some surprise she saw a stone statue covered in ivy standing at the center of the chasm.

For some strange reason she felt drawn to it, and without even pausing to think she tore the ivy and other growths away, her breath catching in her throat as she took in the beautiful statue. It was of a goddess, one long lost to the people of Patch, but obviously once well loved, as the marble statue was the work of a devoted master. If the strange goddess resembled her sculpture then she was truly beautiful, and just looking at her took Ruby's breath away.

She came back to herself when she heard the scrape of the Beowolf moving above, and her eyes widened as she realized that she was caught. There was no way that she could climb out of the chasm without the Beowolf catching her, and she had no weapons to even attempt to fight back with. Suddenly struck with a feeling of wild desperation, she threw herself to her knees in front of the statue and clasped her hands in prayer.

“Oh… um, whoever you are?” Ruby breathed. “I've never seen you before, and I don't know your name, or if you're listening, or, uh, whatever. But you're really pretty, and I'm in so much trouble. If you're listening, then please, please, please save me. I know I'm just some nobody from Patch, but please, I promise to be really faithful and do what you want if I can live through this.”

For a moment nothing happened, and then a voice spoke, making Ruby almost jump out of her skin. “Hmph. That was a terrible prayer.”

“S-sorry,” Ruby gasped after looking around. “I didn't mean to be a bad prayer-person, but I'm really, really in trouble. Please, please help me.”

“And why should I help you if you don't even know who I am?”

“'Cause you're nice?”

“Meh,” the voice said. “My power isn't exactly infinite you know, since nobody worships me these days. Why should I spend what I do have saving you?”

“Because… because…” Ruby scrambled for a moment, trying to think of something, anything to convince the goddess, who she really hoped she wasn't hallucinating, to help her. There was a growl behind her, and a snapping sound as the Beowolf slashed apart some of the branches to reveal the chasm. “You don't have many worshippers, right? I'll worship you! I'll be the bestest worshipper ever! And- and I'll tell everyone about how great you are, and try to get them to worship you too! Please, your goddessness, please save me.”

“Weiss.”

“Huh?”

“My name, you dolt,” the voice snapped. “It's Weiss. And did you really mean that?”

The Beowolf jumped down with a crash, and only its sadistic desire to draw out her death was keeping her alive anymore. “Yes!"

“Swear yourself to me, mortal.”

“I, Ruby Rose, swear myself to Weiss!"

“Not exactly a classical ceremony, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers,” Weiss sighed. “Fine, then. I claim you, Ruby Rose, to be the new High Priestess of my Faith. Be appropriately awed.”

“Thanks! Um… what about the Beowolf?”

“The gods help those who help themselves,” Weiss sniffed. “But I suppose, as my new high priestess, I can lend you a bit of power. Picture a weapon.”

Ruby turned to face the Grimm, which was now mere feet away from her. Without anytime to think she pictured the first weapon that popped into her head, the tool that she'd used to harvest her father's farm each fall. In moments a large, red scythe, covered in strange runes, appeared in her hands.

“Ugh, a scythe?” Weiss grumbled. “Really?”

Before Ruby could reply the Beowolf lunged at her, and with a shout that was more panicked terror than bold war cry she swung the weapon, catching the monster in the side. From the stories she'd heard most weapons had great difficulty penetrating the thick, bony hide of a Grimm, but the scythe cut through it without pause, reaping the monster with no more difficulty than a stalk of wheat. It fell to the ground in two halves, and then swiftly disintegrated into black smoke.

“I- I did it!” Ruby shouted.

“So you did,” Weiss mused. “Hmm… well, it may have looked silly, but you swung it well. Congratulations on surviving.”

“Thanks!” Ruby said brightly, turning back to face the statue. “Um, uh… what now?”

“Now?” Weiss asked. “Well, I suppose I will need to teach you about my religion, so that you can spread my faith as promised, high priestess. And so you can properly follow the new faith you've sworn yourself to.”

“Oh, uh, right,” Ruby said sheepishly. “Uh… what exactly are you the goddess of?”

“Knowledge and the Written Word,” Weiss said proudly. “It was I who gave the gift of Literacy to mankind, so that they could record all the Knowledge of the World. As my priestess you must be wise and learned. I think, before we begin your religious education, we'll need to start with your mundane one. How many languages do you know? Four? Five?”

“Uh… this one?”

There was a long pause. “Tell me you're at least literate, and not some peasant bumpkin?”

Ruby chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head as her new goddess groaned in frustration.


End file.
